Occasionally, something really cool turns up on
my front porch. This week, something really, REALLY cool turned up -
the Miss Piggy figure from the first series of Muppest by Palisades
Toys.

Some are calling this line the next WOS, but
only time will really tell. What is certain is that both action figure
collectors and Muppets fans alike are excited about this set of
figures. The first series includes Dr. Teeth, Miss Piggy (reviewed
here), Bunsen Honeydew and Kermit of course! There will also be
playsets, and the first is Honeydew's lab, with a special Beaker figure.

Retail for these should be around $8-$10.
Toys R Us will be carrying them in a big way, along with other
specialty retailers. We're likely to see quite a number of exclusives,
and the first has already been released - a repainted Dr. Teeth, exclusive
to the Wizard World East show. There's a photo of him at the
bottom. Electronics Boutique will be carrying an exclusive Miss Piggy,
which is currently available for pre-order, and Toys R Us is carrying the
exclusive Tuxedo Kermit. While Toyfare has also solicited the Tuxedo
Kermit, if you didn't get it that way don't fret. Toys R Us will have
90% of the run available through their stores.

Packaging - ***1/2
My last review of the Scooby figures was fine example on how NOT to do
carded figures. Here's a fine example of how to do them.

The art is very attractive, and
specific to the first series. You see the first series of figures on
the front, along with the red curtain design similar to the show.
Palisades web site info is prominent, along with the admonition to
"Play with it!".

On the back, there's further
pictures of the rest of the line, with bio info on Miss Piggy, and general
info on the show. This is a terrific example of great text and
graphics on a sturdy card.

Sculpting - ***1/2
The sculpt is dead on. The size of the snout, the placement of the
eyes and ears, and even the body, which we rarely got to see in its entirety,
are just right. *UPDATE* After spending many hours (okay, not quite that
long) staring at Miss Piggy and comparing her to photos, I think the snout
is a little too large. I too a slight hit off this category because of
it, but it's not too far out of proportion for her face. *END UPDATE*

It does seem to me that Miss
Piggy had a slightly bigger bust line than this, although I'm not sure I
should even be noticing that. Some folks won't like the short hair on
this particular sculpt, but the EB exclusive is the longer haired version.

The hands are also great
sculpts, and the left hand is sculpted to hold the hand mirror
perfectly. It's always nice when a figure can actually hold its
accessories - it's surprising how often that's not the case.

Paint - ***1/2
The paint ops are extremely good, but there was a little slop here and
there.

The paint work around the face,
particularly the blush, eyes and hair line are all quite well done.
There was some 'crud' in some of the paint, giving a couple bumpy areas
around the ears, but overall the head was great.

Some of the lines on the body,
particularly around the shoes were a little uneven, so pay some attention
when you pick yours out. But overall the paint ops are as good or
better than other figures in this category.

Accessories - ****
Miss Piggy comes with three items. First, there's the stand that every
figure will come with. It has the Muppet Show logo, with the 25th
anniversary mentioned. There are two pegs, one for each of her feet,
and she fit perfectly on the stand. She could also stand on her own,
but she's easy to knock over due to her small feet and, uh, classic
proportions.

Then there is her trademark
mirror. On the back is an intricate 'P', while the mirror itself
actually works. Sure, it's just a reflective sticker, but at least
Miss Piggy can use it to check her eyeliner. It also fits perfectly in
her right hand.

The final accessory is the
largest - her makeup dresser. There's a large mirror on top that tilts
to any angle, with the same reflective sticker material. The lower
half includes a drawer that opens - an extremely nice touch that I hadn't
expected.

Articulation - ***1/2
Even though she only has 8 points (10, if you consider each ball jointed
shoulder as two points), Miss Piggy is about as articulated as you could
want.

She has neck (which has a good
range of motion since her hair is short), ball jointed shoulders, cut joints
at the very top of the gloves, her right elbow, and hips. Knees and
ankles probably wouldn't have done much, but a waist joint and the left
elbow would have been the only joints that might have been good to add.

Value - ***1/2
I'm assuming you'll find her for $8-$9. WOS figures are still around
$6, and although these come with more complicated accessories, I'd still
like to see them around $7. Still, it's an awfully nice figure with
some great accessories, so $8 or so isn't bad.

Overall - ***1/2Miss Piggy was awfully close to 4 stars, and I suspect that every
figure in this first series will end up between ***1/2 and **** for
me. This is a fantastic line, and I'm betting that the Muppets fans
will gobble them up.

If you have any inclination that you might
want to get this line, start picking them up right away. You can
always return them, or sell them off to another collector later.
Pre-order those exclusives, or pick them up at the store when you see
them. Don't make the same mistake that so many WOS collectors did and
wait until the early figures were already 3 or 4 times their original price
before trying to find them.

Where to Buy - I don't know of a store with these in
stock yet, but lots of places are taking pre-orders. Bricks and mortar
Toys R Us stores and Target stores should have them soon as well.

- Beans Toys also has pre-orders going at
$33. Adam is a great guy, and I'm sure you'll get great customer
service.

- New
Force Comics has them just slightly higher, at $36 for a set of
four. I've always gotten great service from Rick.